United plane makes wrong turn, nearly colliding with other flight mid-air: FAA

SAN FRANCISCO — The FAA is investigating a close call between two commercial jets that were taking off on parallel runways at San Francisco International Airport.

According to reports, the incident happened on May 13. The United flight took off and was cleared to make a right turn. Moments later, the SkyWest flight took off and was cleared to head left.

For some reason, the United plane made a wrong turn and went left into the SkyWest flight’s path. This triggered an alert and the SkyWest crew pulled an evasive maneuver to avoid a collision.

According to FlightRadar24, the planes came within 1,950 feet lateral separation, 275 feet vertical separation while taking off at the same time on parallel runways.

“There’s a lot of things going on. It’s a very dynamic environment. As an investigator, that’s what I would be studying, is what was going on with that crew at any one time from the time they left the ramp until the time they took off,” said Greg Feith, former NTSB investigator.

United Airlines tells us its reviewing the incident, while SkyWest says after its crew made its maneuver, the flight was able to carry on to its destination in Fresno.

“Yes. The potential for a catastrophic event was there, but there were systems in place, communications took place, and corrective actions were initiated to prevent the situation,” said Feith.

In a statement, the FAA said the United plane turned without authorization. The agency is investigating the event.